IN A synchronised move, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has acquired a 10 per cent stake in Virgin Australia Airlines for US$108.8 million, while the latter has secured a 60 per cent share in SIA subsidiary Tiger Airways Australia for US$36.2 million.

Virgin Australia is now co-owned by founder & president Richard Brandson (26 per cent), Air New Zealand (19.9 per cent), Etihad Airways (10 per cent) and SIA (10 per cent), with the remaining 34.1 per cent publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. SIA also has a 49 per cent share in Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Airways.

The development comes almost one-and-a-half years after the two airlines inked a partnership agreement during the IATA 67th AGM and World Air Transport Summit in Singapore (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 7, 2011).

Since then, Virgin Australia has transformed from a low-cost into a full-service carrier. However, the airline’s unexpected investment in Tiger Australia means it has re-emerged in the LCC arena to take on Jetstar Airways, which is owned by arch rival, Qantas Airways.

Virgin Australia and SIA plan to grow Tiger Australia’s current fleet of 11 Airbus A320 aircraft to 35-strong by 2018.

SIA CEO, Goh Choon Phong, said: “This major development demonstrates the importance and strength of the partnership between our two airlines, and our shared commitment to an alliance that provides a wide range of consumer benefits. With this development, there is no doubt that SIA and Virgin Australia intend to be alliance partners for the long haul.”

Virgin Australia CEO, John Borghetti, said: “This transaction allows Virgin Australia to access the budget market, and enables Tiger Airways Australia to expedite its growth, providing greater competition in this important market segment.”

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia has made a US$101.9 million takeover bid for Skywest Airlines, a regional carrier based in Perth, Western Australia.

CHINESE group tour traffic to the Philippines is expected to recover by early next year, following the rescinding of the travel ban imposed by Chinese authorities in May due to the territorial standoff over Scarborough Shoal.

Bookings have been on the uptrend since October 11, but will probably only recover to pre-tension levels in February next year, said Lourdes Amansec, assistant general manager, Direction Travel & Tours.

Mary Ann Ong, market director, Blue Horizons Travel & Tours China, is anticipating an increase in Chinese arrivals around the same time. “I’m expecting that by Chinese New Year, bookings will be normal (again),” she said.

Amansec pointed out lingering problems in confirming airline seat availability since some carriers had reduced China-Philippine frequencies or stopped services altogether.

Cebu Pacific previously suspended Shanghai-Clark services, while Zest Air ceased Shanghai-Kalibo and Jinjiang-Manila operations, and shelved plans for Shanghai-Cebu and Beijing-Kalibo flights (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 14, 2012).

Ong told TTG Asia e-Daily, however, that “there (were) indications that chartered flights (would) resume soon”.

TAIWAN and China are rolling out a series of initiatives to capture a larger share of the Muslim outbound market from Malaysia.

To grow the segment, the Taiwan Visitors Association this year distributed in Malaysia 20,000 free copies of the Traveling in Taiwan for Muslims guide book, which lists mosques and halal eateries, as well as Muslim-friendly attractions and accommodation in Taiwan.

“We have more than 100 halal restaurants in Taiwan,” said Tony Wu, director, Kuala Lumpur Office, Taiwan Visitors Association, adding that the office was planning to invite Malaysian media on a fam trip next year to showcase the destination’s attractions and offerings.

While Wu admits that Taiwan’s share of Muslim visitors from Malaysia is currently “not big”, his office is aiming to boost the segment next year to 10 per cent of the targeted 400,000 Malaysian arrivals, up from this year’s five per cent share of 350,000 arrivals.

This year also marks the first time the China National Tourist Office (CNTO) has its eye on the Muslim market in Malaysia, with the NTO organising several fam trips for Malaysian media and outbound travel consultants.

The most recent one, from October 10 to 18, was to Shanghai and Chinese provinces with large Muslim populations such as Ningxia and Gansu, said Tian Xin, director, CNTO Singapore. “We want to showcase our tourism attractions in China, our delicious food and shopping,” he said.

CNTO’s target is to grow its annual share of visitors from Malaysia to 1.5 million over the next few years, up from last year’s 1.24 million.

FRESH from launching daily London-Mumbai flights yesterday (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 5, 2012), Virgin Atlantic Airways intends to commence services to Hyderabad, Goa and Bangalore shortly.

Virgin Atlantic Airways chairman, Richard Branson, said: “We are looking at the availability of a slot at London (Heathrow) for additional connectivity to these three cities in India. Goa is a priority. Our investment into operations in India will touch £300 million (US$481 million) this year.”

Steve Ridgway, CEO, Virgin Atlantic, said: “Last year, we witnessed 12 per cent growth on our New Delhi route. We have deployed two new Airbus 330-300 aircraft on the Mumbai route, and the new service will open connections to London (Heathrow) and onward to Boston, Washington, Chicago, New York and Miami.”

Rajendra Dhumma, managing director, Classis Travels Mumbai, said: “The increase in seat capacity to London is always welcome, as it is the busiest sector from Mumbai for corporate and business travel as well as leisure tours. Moreover, traffic on this route will always grow to avail of connections to other cities in Europe, North and South America.”

LOMBOK is currently trending across all Wego’s travel metasearch sites around the world, but growing fastest in the US.

Search volumes for Bali’s neighbouring island have jumped over 40 per cent year-to-date, compared with the same period in 2011, with one in every five searches made by American Wego.com users.

The trend matches the tourist arrivals captured by the Department of Culture and Tourism, West Nusa Tenggara, measuring 36 per cent uplift for Lombok in the first half of 2012, compared to 2011. Total visitor numbers to Lombok from January to June 2012 reached almost 500,000.

Indonesian travellers still dominate, but international visitors outpaced the average at 47 per cent for the same period last year. Over half of the users of Wego’s 52 country sites searching Lombok were using the local Indonesian site, wego.co.id, with the remainder consisting predominantly of travellers from Singapore, Australia and Malaysia.

“We’re seeing a trend that both domestic travellers and international visitors are discovering new destinations in Indonesia,” explained Graham Hills, managing director, Wego Indonesia.

“Bali may be the most frequently searched, but Lombok is rapidly closing the gap. The destination’s increased accessibility and recently opened international airport will only encourage more visitors and support the expansion of its hospitality sector.”

ASCOTT has been awarded the management contracts for two new properties in Ho Chi Minh City.

The 100-unit Somerset Vista Ho Chi Minh City will open in December, while the 168-unit Vista Residences will be available for lease next month. Both properties are part of The Vista, a premier residential development.

Alfred Ong, Ascott’s managing director for South-east Asia and Australia, said: “With the government’s plans to transform Ho Chi Minh City’s District Two into Vietnam’s new commercial and financial centre, we see strong growth potential to expand into the area.”

Somerset Vista Ho Chi Minh City and Vista Residences will offer a range of apartments ranging from two- to four-bedroom units. Both properties are equipped with facilities such as a lap pool, a children’s pool and playground, a gym, a clubhouse with steam and sauna, a Jacuzzi, tennis courts and a golf putting green.

Meanwhile, Ascott’s first property in Hai Phong – Somerset Central TD Hai Phong City – is set to launch in 2013, while its inaugural property in Danang – Somerset Danang Bay – will debut in 2014.

AYALALAND Hotels & Resorts Corp, a wholly owned subsidiary of Philippine-based Ayala Land, has completed its purchase of Fairmont Hotel and Raffles Suites & Residences Makati from Saudi-owned Kingdom Hotel Investments.

Scheduled to open in December within the Makati City CBD, the property will feature a 280-room Fairmont Hotel, a 32-suite Raffles Hotel, 237 luxury Raffles Residences as well as eight F&B outlets, two outdoor swimming pools, a spa and fitness centre and more than 1,100m2 of event space.

Scott Hetherington, CEO, Asia, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, said: “This transaction in the Philippines underpins the strength of investor appetite that exists for well-located, international-branded assets around the region.”

“The sale also signals the exceptional return opportunities available to investors in growth markets such as the Philippines, which enjoys a well-diversified and growing tourist base of high-spending travellers.”